Blog - Read More About Your Favourite Islands

This week's Destination of the Week is Pelion (Pronounced Pilio in Greek although spelt Πήλιο), a peninsula stuck out like an arm in eastern central Greece. The peninsula is one of the most beautiful areas of the mainland covered in luscious green forests which, in Greek mythology were said to be home to the centaurs. Unlike many popular areas of Greece, although it gets many tourists, tourism isn’t the area’s main source of income and it gets that instead from land and sea, producing large amounts of apples, pears, peaches and olives. If you want a flavour for the real Greece, Pelion is where you can find it. It’s mountainous and forested terrain means there is plenty to do and see here. In this article we’ll take you through the best things based on our personal experience with the area to help you make the most of your trip. 
 
How to get there
To get to Pelion you have to fly into Volos which is the regional capital of the area. You can fly into Volos from London Gatwick and flights start at the beginning of the season at the end March.  To best enjoy Pelion its worth renting a car to drive between the towns and villages of the peninsula, from Volos airport it can take you anywhere from 45 mins to 2 hours depending on whether you are staying in the north or south of the peninsula. Places such as Ano Lechonia, Afissos, Chorto or Damouchari are good to stay in but we can advise further at the time of enquiry. 

1 – Take a train up to Milies
From the town of Ano Lechonia you can take The Pelion Train up the hill to the village of Milies. This train began operating more than a century ago in 1903 and is still run by steam train today even maintaining its vintage aesthetic both inside and out. When you reach Milies there are a number of things you can do there. There is a folk museum full of local artefacts and there are some beautiful frescoes at the Taxiarchis church (Church of the Archangels). 

This week’s Destination of the Week is Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece, has a very modern feel in part due to the major shopping streets around the centre and also the large student population from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. This doesn’t mean there’s a shortage of historical landmarks, some of which we will highlight in this. 

How to get there
You can fly direct to Thessaloniki from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Stansted and Newcastle. As well as this it has many domestic flights and can be used to connect and reach some of the Islands. Thessaloniki is also the gateway to Halkidiki, if you're looking to go to Halkidiki read our best things to do there

1 – The White Tower
The White Tower is probably Thessaloniki’s most famous monument, built in 1430 it was originally part of the city walls and held prisoners. Today the tower houses the White Tower Museum which is dedicated to Thessaloniki’s history from the Roman Era to the present day. These exhibitions are held in its many small rooms up and down the tower and give you an insight into the forces that have shaped the city into the place it is today. The stairs will take you to the top and from there you can see out across much of the city.